Pay gap report
The data presented in this report relates to BBC Public Service Broadcasting. Further details on the scope are provided at the end of the report under the statutory reporting requirements section.
Our median gender pay gap is unchanged at 7.6% compared to last year’s report, whilst our mean gender pay gap has reduced to 5.3%.
In addition to statutory gender reporting, we also voluntarily publish pay gaps for ethnicity, disability, LGBTQ+, socio-economic background and by working hours; the table below summarises the mean and median pay gaps across all reported characteristics. Except for the LGBTQ+ and part-time pay gaps which have increased by between 0.7 and 1.4 percentage points, the pay gaps for all other characteristics have decreased or remained stable this year, with notable decreases in our ethnicity pay gaps. The pay gaps for each characteristic are further analysed by career band in the relevant sections below.
| Mean 2025/26 | Mean 2024/25 | Median 2025/26 | Median 2024/25 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Gender | 5.3% | 5.7% | 7.6% | 7.6% |
Ethnicity | 2.0% | 3.5% | 0.7% | 1.8% |
Disability | 3.5% | 3.6% | 3.8% | 3.9% |
LGBTQ+ | 7.9% | 6.5% | 8.7% | 7.3% |
Socio-Eco | 4.9% | 5.3% | 2.2% | 2.4% |
Part-time | 3.0% | 2.3% | 3.9% | 3.1% |
Data presented is based on the statutory snapshot date for public authority employers of 31 March 2026. Details of the scope are provided at the end of the report under statutory reporting.
What is driving changes in our pay gaps?
Across all characteristics, including gender, the primary driver of our pay gaps is the distribution of employees across organisational levels and job families. For example, whilst we have slightly more women than men in our two most senior career bands, we have a significantly higher proportion of women in our two most junior bands, which reduces the female averages. We also have more men than women in our technology teams where average pay is above the BBC median pay level, increasing the overall male averages. This difference between our male and female averages is reported as the pay gap.
As in previous years, changes to our pay gaps shown in this report reflect movement in our workforce, including our apprentice intake, which was our largest-ever early years intake, as detailed on page #. Our apprentice cohort tends to be more diverse than the wider employee workforce and they are paid below the average level of pay for other employees, with many starting their careers at our lowest career band; this has a direct impact on our pay gaps.
The largest year‑on‑year movement is the reduction to our mean ethnicity pay gap. Although overall representation has remained constant for Black, Asian and minority ethnic staff, there has been a reduction in the proportion of Black, Asian and minority ethnic staff in our most junior career band, which has increased the overall mean pay for Black, Asian and minority ethnic employees and reduced the ethnicity pay gap. Our LGBTQ+ pay gaps have increased again this year, reflecting an increase in majority representation at the most senior bands and an increase in LGBTQ+ representation at the lowest band, driven primarily by our apprentice intake. Greater volatility in results is expected from one year to the next for characteristics with smaller cohorts as small changes in workforce demographics have a bigger impact.
What are we doing to reduce pay gaps?
Our Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging Strategy, sets out our commitment to monitoring and improving representation across the different characteristics. The strategy sets out specific initiatives to achieve our aims, including continuing to promote our apprentice programme to build a strong talent pipeline for the future, which due to the diversity of our apprentices will continue to impact our pay gaps, further information is detailed in Our people.
Our approach to managing pay at the BBC is guided by our Reward principles of ‘fair’, ‘clear’ and ‘competitive’. We set pay with reference to both external market data and internal cohorts to ensure equity and consistency. Ensuring career opportunities for all to progress to more senior and higher paid roles, as well as across the organisation more broadly, will continue to support the structural changes needed to reduce our pay gaps over time.
In addition, we maintain a high level of pay transparency, both internally and externally, including the public disclosure of the remuneration of our most senior and highly paid staff. Pay ranges are visible to all employees on our intranet site and are included in job adverts externally.
We monitor and report our pay gaps throughout the year to the Remuneration Committee.
Pay gaps explained
A pay gap is the difference in average gross hourly pay between two defined categories of employees, for example female and male employees for gender pay gap or disabled and non-disabled for the disability gap.
We present both the mean and median pay gaps, along with pay gaps by career band for each characteristic, where there are more than 20 employees within the band.
Negative pay gaps indicate that the average hourly pay for the minority group is higher than that of the majority group. Positive pay gaps show the reverse.
Alongside this, when analysing our pay gaps, we arrange employees’ earnings from highest to lowest and divide them into four equal groups, known as quartiles and show the distribution by characteristic at each quartile.
We also report bonus gaps, which relate to voucher-based awards made under our recognition scheme and our long service awards as we do not pay bonuses to anyone outside our commercial entities. The pay and bonus gaps for our commercial entities are reported separately, in line with the reporting requirements.
Gender pay gaps
Our gender pay gaps are based on binary sex recorded on an individual’s National Insurance record. Of the total population covered by this report, 48% are female and 52% are male. Across the wider BBC Group, 51% are female and 49% are male.
Our median gender pay gap is unchanged this year, whilst our mean gender pay gap has decreased compared with the previous year. This change is attributable to a reduction in the representation of women in our lowest career band and increased representation in higher career bands.
Our gender median pay gap remains significantly lower than the national average median gap of 12.8% (ONS data as of April 2025).
| Mean | Median | |
|---|---|---|
2026 | 5.3% | 7.6% |
2025 | 5.7% | 7.6% |
Our mean gender pay gap including Northern Ireland is 5.3% and the median is 7.3%. In line with the reporting regulations, we exclude Northern Ireland from our standard reporting.
The following table shows our gender pay gaps by career band. As noted above, negative pay gaps indicate that the minority average is higher than the majority average; in this case median pay for women is higher than median pay for men at Band B and Senior Leaders. It is also notable that the pay gaps at all career bands are lower than the overall pay gaps. These gaps reflect differences in representation and average pay across different job families.
| Band | Mean | Median |
|---|---|---|
A | 2.6% | 0.4% |
B | 0.4% | -1.1% |
C | 4.7% | 5.9% |
D | 4.2% | 3.9% |
E | 2.2% | 3.0% |
F | 0.1% | 0.7% |
Senior Leaders | 0.0% | -1.4% |
The following graph shows the proportion of women and men in each pay quartile. This reflects representation across our career bands.
| Dataset | Female | Male |
|---|---|---|
| Lower | 58.3% | 41.7% |
| Lower middle | 48.5% | 51.5% |
| Upper middle | 42.7% | 57.3% |
| Upper | 43% | 57% |
Ethnicity pay gaps
95% of employees have shared their ethnicity data with us. 18% of the population included in this report are Black, Asian or part of another minority ethnic group (also 18% across the wider BBC Group).
The mean and median pay gaps between our Black, Asian, and minority ethnic staff compared to our white staff has decreased compared with the previous year. This change is primarily attributable to a reduction in the proportion of Black, Asian and minority ethnic staff in our lowest career band, although representation overall has remained the same.
| Mean | Median | |
|---|---|---|
2026 | 2.0% | 0.7% |
2025 | 3.5% | 1.8% |
The following table breaks down our ethnicity pay gaps by career band. As noted above, negative pay gaps indicate that the minority average is higher than the majority average; in this case the average pay for our Black, Asian and minority ethnic staff is higher than or close to the average for white staff at all Bands.
| Band | Mean | Median |
|---|---|---|
A | -4.0% | -13.2% |
B | -0.2% | -1.3% |
C | -4.7% | -5.4% |
D | -3.3% | -3.5% |
E | -4.5% | -4.3% |
F | -2.2% | 0.6% |
Senior Leaders | -9.3% | -5.3% |
The following graph shows the proportion of Black, Asian and minority ethnic staff and white staff in each pay quartile. This reflects representation across our career bands.
| Dataset | Black, Asian and minority ethnic | White |
|---|---|---|
| Lower | 19.3% | 80.7% |
| Lower middle | 19.8% | 80.2% |
| Upper middle | 20.1% | 79.9% |
| Upper | 17.6% | 82.4% |
The following table shows the pay gaps for specific ethnic groups.
| Mean | Median | |
|---|---|---|
Asian | -1.5% | -2.7% |
Black | 9.9% | 8.5% |
Mixed | 4.2% | 4.1% |
Other | -7.0% | -5.9% |
Disability pay gaps
Internally we refer to this characteristic as ‘deaf, disabled and neurodivergent’ to align with industry best practice and to ensure our neurodivergent staff and deaf staff also feel able to share their diversity data.
93% of employees have told us whether they have a disability and 12% of the population included in this report are deaf, disabled and neurodivergent (12% across the wider BBC Group).
The mean and median pay gaps between our disabled and non-disabled staff have decreased slightly compared to the previous year. This change is primarily attributable to lower disabled representation in our most junior career band.
| Mean | Median | |
|---|---|---|
2026 | 3.5% | 3.8% |
2025 | 3.6% | 3.9% |
The graph below shows the proportion of disabled/non-disabled employees in each pay quartile. This reflects representation across our career bands.
| Dataset | Disabled | Non-disabled |
|---|---|---|
| Lower | 16.8% | 83.2% |
| Lower middle | 11.9% | 88.1% |
| Upper middle | 11.8% | 88.2% |
| Upper | 12.5% | 87.5% |
LGBTQ+ pay gaps
85% of our employees have disclosed their data for this characteristic. 12% of the population included in this report are bisexual, gay, lesbian, or other sexual orientation (not including heterosexual) (11% across the wider BBC Group). The LGBTQ+grouping also includes anyone who identifies as transgender regardless of sexuality.
The mean and median pay gaps between our LGBTQ+ employees and non-LGBTQ+ employees have increased compared to the previous year. This change is attributable to an increase in LGBTQ+representation at the more junior career bands following our apprentice intake, and an increase in non-LGBTQ+ representation at the most senior bands.
| Mean | Median | |
|---|---|---|
2026 | 7.9% | 8.7% |
2025 | 6.5% | 7.3% |
This table breaks down our LGBTQ+ pay gaps by career band. As noted above, negative pay gaps indicate that LGBTQ+ staff are paid on average more than non-LGBTQ+ staff. This is the case at our more senior career bands.
| Band | Mean | Median |
|---|---|---|
A | 4.1% | 6.6% |
B | 4.8% | 6.4% |
C | 2.8% | 3.2% |
D | -0.7% | -1.1% |
E | -1.0% | -1.4% |
F | -3.4% | -1.2% |
Senior Leaders | -7.5% | -8.8% |
The graph below shows the proportion of LGBTQ+/non-LGBTQ+employees in each pay quartile. This reflects representation across our career bands.
| Dataset | LGBTQ+ | Non-LGBTQ+ |
|---|---|---|
| Lower | 18.4% | 81.6% |
| Lower middle | 13.5% | 86.5% |
| Upper middle | 11% | 89% |
| Upper | 11.6% | 88.4% |
Socio-economic pay gaps
82% of our employees have disclosed their data for this characteristic. 21% of the population included in this report are from a working-class background (also 21% across the wider BBC Group).
The median and mean pay gaps for employees with different socio-economic backgrounds has decreased compared to the previous year. This change is primarily attributable to a reduction in minority representation at the most junior career bands.
| Mean | Median | |
|---|---|---|
2026 | 4.9% | 2.2% |
2025 | 5.3% | 2.4% |
This table breaks down our socio-economic pay gaps by career band. As noted above, negative pay gaps indicate that employees from working class backgrounds are paid on average more than those not from working class backgrounds. This is the case at our most junior career bands.
| Band | Mean | Median |
|---|---|---|
A | -3.5% | -0.2% |
B | -1.7% | -3.8% |
C | 0.0% | 0.3% |
D | 1.7% | 1.5% |
E | 1.6% | 1.0% |
F | 2.3% | 1.2% |
Senior Leaders | 16.8% | 12.7% |
The graph below shows the proportion of employees from a working-class/other socio-economic background in each pay quartile. This reflects representation across our career bands.
| Dataset | Working class | Majority |
|---|---|---|
| Lower | 26.6% | 73.4% |
| Lower middle | 26.3% | 73.7% |
| Upper middle | 25.7% | 74.3% |
| Upper | 22.5% | 77.5% |
Additional payments at the BBC
There are no bonuses in operation in BBC public service broadcasting. The statutory reporting requirements for reporting on gender pay include bonus pay gaps. In line with that guidance, we have calculated the figures below based on our recognition scheme and long-service awards, although we do not consider these to be bonuses. The voucher-based recognition scheme allows staff in Bands A - F to be rewarded for exceptional performance. During the year 3,460 staff received vouchers under this scheme, with the median amount being £200. 287 staff received long service awards, and the median payment was £5,222.
The tables below show the proportion of staff in each characteristic receiving an award under the recognition scheme or long service awards and the gaps between the mean and median amounts received. The gender mean bonus gaps have increased from the previous year due to more eligible males being in receipt of a long service awards than females.
| % of majority group receiving an award | % of minority group receiving an award | |
|---|---|---|
Gender | 22.8% | 24.3% |
Ethnicity | 24.0% | 22.6% |
Disability | 23.8% | 23.3% |
LGBTQ+ | 24.4% | 23.9% |
Socio-Economic | 24.5% | 24.7% |
| Mean bonus gap | Median bonus gap | |
|---|---|---|
Gender | 34.9% | 0.0% |
Ethnicity | 15.9% | 0.0% |
Disability | 13.4% | 0.0% |
LGBTQ+ | 39.5% | 18.8% |
Socio-Economic | 7.6% | 0.0% |
Statutory reporting requirements
This report provides the statutory disclosures required of BBC public service broadcasting for staff based in England, Scotland and Wales, including the BBC World Service. It excludes our commercial subsidiaries: BBC Studios (including BritBox, UKTV and any other wholly owned subsidiaries), BBC Global News, BBC Studioworks, Children in Need and Media Action. These either fall below the statutory reporting requirements by number of staff or are reported separately (see the pay gap reporting for our commercial entities on www.bbcstudios.com).
The disclosure rates indicated for each characteristic correspond to the population included in the pay gap analysis and therefore may differ from those presented elsewhere. Those who have not disclosed their data relating to the relevant characteristics are not included in the pay gap analysis.
We include data for people on staff contracts, both permanent and fixed-term. This includes our on-air presenters who have BBC staff contracts. We do not include any workers on freelance contracts. Agency workers who were engaged for the BBC but employed through third-party agencies are excluded as they will be included in the Pay Gap report submitted by the agency that employs them.
